How to be as good "live" as on paper

So did you finally finish your resume? It probably took hours to do a first draft then an edited version trimming the document to two pages. Then, if you heeded the advice of outplacement consultants to make sure your resume was error-free, you probably took a bit more time to proofread it. The question is: Have you invested as much time preparing for your "live" conversations with interested employers? If you're like a lot of people, you haven't -- and that can undermine all the work you put into creating a great resume.

"Hiring managers are often left a bit disenchanted with candidates after interviewing them," said Paul McDonald, senior executive director of global recruiting and staffing firm Robert Half International (RHI). "Keep in mind, people can review and revise their resumes endlessly before submitting them to employers but too often, they don't spend time doing mock interviews or rehearsing their responses to likely questions when preparing for job interviews."

That, according to McDonald, is a big mistake. "A good resume can get people interviews but it's interview performance that gets people job offers," he said.

One RHI survey revealed how often executives felt candidates with promising resumes fell short during interviews. Sixty one percent of executives responding to that survey said it was "somewhat common" while an additional 11 percent responded "very common."

Fortunately, McDonald says targeted preparation can help people "shine" in person and over the phone as much as they do on paper.

"First of all," he said, "we encourage people to rehearse their responses to likely interview questions. They don't have to memorize scripted responses but investing time in thinking through responses to likely questions enables people to answer more confidently referencing elements of their work experience most likely to impress or resonate with interviewers. Trying to craft such answers for the first time during interviews can be very tough."

McDonald's next tip involves finding a professional peer to role play and do mock interviews with you before your actual interviews with employers. "It's helpful for that peer to be knowledgeable about your field. It's particularly valuable if the professional peer has had management and/or hiring experience," said McDonald.

Important as well, added McDonald, is doing research on the company and industry in which you're pursuing a job. "The opportunity may present itself to weave information from recent news accounts into one's responses to particular questions," he explained.

McDonald even recommends researching the individual who'll be interviewing you if you can get that person's name in advance of your meeting. "With information so widely available on the Internet today, a candidate can search for the interviewer by name," noted McDonald. "If that individual has recently given a speech or written an article for an industry publication, the [job] applicant can gain valuable insights into that individual's professional views and/or priorities. Such information can potentially be woven into interview responses to make them more relevant to that interviewer."

Beyond being relevant, McDonald said exhibiting knowledge about the interviewer and/or the company and industry conveys to the interviewer that you're someone willing to do your homework. "Managers like to see initiative and you're demonstrating initiative by mentioning relevant facts acquired through your research," said McDonald. "You can exhibit great interpersonal and communication skills during interviews, but to really step ahead and distinguish yourself from others competing for the same job, exhibiting timely or relevant knowledge about the company or industry is key. It suggests you could hit the ground running if hired. It also conveys your willingness to do the research necessary to get up to speed on a topic if you aren't already knowledgeable about it."

Finally, McDonald offered this advice about initial telephone screens with interested employers. "Keep in mind," he said, "an applicant's performance during a telephone screen is also important since that performance is key in prompting an invitation for an in-person interview. A telephone screen, after all, is essentially a brief interview during which more detail is sought about an applicant's relevant skills and experience. Getting a more personal feel for the individual behind a resume is also a goal of such telephone conversations."

"That's why job hunters should also prepare for telephone screens by rehearsing answers to likely questions. They should be thoroughly familiar with the details of their resumes as well, especially any relevant accomplishments listed that they can bring up during the call if the employer doesn't do so."